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There are around 65 pubs in the centre of Shrewsbury today – and by that I am excluding areas such as Harlescott, Bayston Hill and Bicton Heath, as well as other parts of the wider borough. But of course their names, numbers and positions have changed over the years.

The number of pubs peaked in the early 1900s, when there were nearly 100. (Interestingly, as many as 17 of these listed women as their proprietors.) But 50 years either side of that, there were about the same as today, 60-70.

And of course even when the overall total hasn’t changed, there has still been movement in and out of the trade. For example, although the number of pubs in the 1940s was about the same as it is now, only about two thirds of these are the same. The others have closed, changed their name, or been demolished.

But not all of the town’s inns and taverns have disappeared. And here, in the first of two articles, beginning with a look at the pubs inside the loop of The Severn, I share with you the results of my research. (In the next issue I will look at pubs outside the loop, such as in Frankwell, Coleham and Abbey Foregate).

Longest running

There are about 10 pubs still in existence that were also operating 150 years ago - and some go back well before that. See if you can list them. Go on, have a go!

For starters, there are two pubs in Swan Hill that date from 1700-1800: the Coach and Horses (previously The Swan) and the Admiral Benbow. The latter is of course named after Shrewsbury’s greatest naval commander, sometimes referred to as a ‘Nelson of the seventeenth century’, who fought and died against the French in the West Indies. Previously the pub had been known as the Talbot Tap – the Talbot being a dog who appeared on the emblem of the arms of the Early of Shrewsbury, whose family name was Talbot.

But these are not the oldest pubs. Those such as the Nags Head on Wyle Cop and The Golden Cross in the High Street date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. And parts of The Kings Head in Mardol date from as early as 1404, just one year after the Battle of Shrewsbury (this moved here from up the street in 1820, taking over another pub called The Last). Imagine that when you call it to sink a next pint there! Or why not just call in there to see the fifteenth century frescos that were exposed on the pub’s chimneystack during some recent restoration work, that depict the Last Supper and Annunciation.

Other long survivors are The Albert in Smithfield Road, Bulls Head in Castle Gates and Yorkshire House in St Mary’s Place, which dates from 1828 and was a refuge for migrant labourers from that county.

Then there are two that have changed their name so often it is hard to keep up with them: the Three Fishes in Fish Street (which has also been called the Half Moon, Plough and The Bear) and the Loggerheads in Church Street (The Horse and Jockey, Greyhound, Lord Hill and General Hill).

Anyone know the reason for the name Loggerheads, a name that it adopted in the 1830s, when it was officially the Shrewsbury Arms? There are several possible explanations. One is that it is a corruption of ‘Lubbar’s Head’, which is old English for Leopards Head. (Around this time a pub called the Leopard was listed somewhere in Pride Hill, and this may even have been the same one.) Another is that it was named after the loggerhead turtle. But although the pub recently put up a sign depicting this someone evidently changed their mind for it has now been taken down. So, anyone have an explanation? Here is my offering: a lubber, my dictionary tells me, is a big person who is regarded as clumsy, or unintelligent, so maybe its customers were once called ‘lubber heads’!

Whatever the reason for the pub’s name, I’ve always liked the cosiness of its rooms, such as the Men Only bar - a feature that also existed, until relatively recently, in the Coach and Horses and during the week in The Golden Cross.

Long since gone

What about those that no longer exist? Locating and identifying these has not been so easy, and neither the cataloguers nor me are immune from making mistakes! Streets change, houses get pulled down and pubs change their name. Sometimes therefore I have only managed to locate the street but not their number. It is up to you to fill in the blanks!

Frankwell was a busy port and had by far the most pubs in the town (see the forthcoming issue). But Pride Hill, Mardol and the Cop all used to have four or five more pubs than they do today. On Pride Hill for example there was The Greyhound (No.34) and The Leopard (No.3), as well as the Market Tavern, Waggon and Horses, and Crown (where Subway is, in St Mary’s Place, opposite the Post Office).

In Mardol there were up to 10 additional pubs as late as the 1950s. Among them were an Elephant and Castle (No.8 – now to let), Castle and Falcon (No.57 – also called the Old Bell, and now part of Pizza Express), the Old Trumpet (No.6 – formerly Brambles), Queens Head (now Mardol gardens), and several called Vaults such as Simpsons (No.69) and Bulmers (that sold cider at No.50). As for Wyle Cop there was the Old Wherry (No.55 – to the right of the old Mansers premises), Raven & Bell (No.77 – a hotel above Julia’s flower shop), Spread Eagle, London House Inn (10 – at the junction with Dogpole), and Unicorn (No.29-30 – now Tanners).

And before you feel too drunk , Butcher’s Row had one or two more as well. There was the Rising Sun (No.32 – now Owens), The Cock and Butcher’s Arms. The sign that hangs over The Bull here was brought from a pub of the same name when it closed in Abbey Foregate.

Amusing names

Enough of lists! Have you noticed the pub names are a bit more varied and imaginative than we have today. And if the Leopard and Old Wherry (which means a small commercial boat) do not excite you, then there are more surprises to come - even if they are hard to locate.

It may be no surprise that in the mid nineteenth century there was a Duke of Wellington (on Beeches Lane), Victoria (on Smithfield Road – she would have been horrified to see the Riverside Shopping Centre) and Nelson’s Arms (on Barker Street). And reflecting the different lifestyle of the day there was a Dog & Partridge (St Mary’s Place), Rifleman (10 Chester Street) and Bugle (maybe No. 10 Bridge Street).

And up to 1800 there two pubs called the Gullet! One was in The Square, and later became two pubs, the Market Vaults and the Old Hole in the Wall, until they combined in around 1985. The other was at Nos. 2-3 Hill’s Lane (at the back of Jonathan’s card shop). It was here that a male club called by the same name, for the influential men of the town, met once a quarter (Tuesdays 6-10pm they say), for drink, dinner and a debate. The club moved to the Shrewsbury Hotel (it used to be the Welsh Harp and was later The Britannia) in 1845, but it declined in the 1870s when members drifted off after the club became political.

There was even a pub called The Shakespeare in Shoplatch (on the left hand side of what is now is the YMCA, formerly the Theatre Royal). But the most intriguing of all must be the Hero of Moultan (34 Wyle Cop – now NCP car park), opposite the Lion and Pheasant (which is where Shrewsbury’s last cock fight took place, in 1857). The hero in question was Major Herbert Edwardes of Frodesley, near Dorrington, who won wide praise for his bravery during the Second Sikh War in India, in 1848-49. After the pub closed it became the Shearer Tea Rooms.

Recently gone

The most recent pubs to have gone are The Acorn in St Julian’s Friars (Nos. 5-6 – now part of the Hop and Friar) and the Old Slipper Inn (No. 8 Barker Street). The latter was knocked down in the redevelopment at the back of Hill’s Lane, which took place in the 1980s. The pub was named after the man that releases the greyhound at a coursing match, not the comfy indoor shoe! Previously it had been called the Odd Fellows, Hope and Anchor and also Rowleys (who was a significant brewer in the town back in the sixteenth century).

There were a few others around till at least 1979. This included four in Mardol - the Elephant and Castle (No.8 - ??), Vaults (No.59 – now Yates’s), Pig and Truffle (No.49 - now The Bedroom) and Raven (a wine bar on the corner of Roushill) – along with the Old Market Vaults in Shoplatch, and the Bowling Green Inn at 55 New Park Road, Castlefields.

Going back a bit further, to around in the 1940s, there was the Barge Hotel/Bridge Inn (No 45 Wyle Cop – demolished in 1930), Criterion (No. 40 High Street – now Baileys), Green Dragon (Nos. 23-24 Hills Lane – gone), Horseshoe and Sun Inn (Roushill - gone), Royal Vaults (No. 79 Wyle Cop – now Sheraz Tandori and Balti) and the White Hart (No.14 Mardol – the Red Cross since 1995).

Enjoy your pint – or two!!

Next week: The Circus, String of Horses and Bowling Green Inn. Thanks to Records & Research for the photos.

 

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